Italian and Croatian cuisine by a former Michelin executive chef

The Rose Mary, an Italian-Croatian restaurant designed by Studio UNLTD, has opened in Chicago. Fulham's long-awaited Rose Mary, a former Michelin Executive Chef, draws inspiration from his Italian heritage and his wife's home country of Croatia, offering rustic yet sophisticated cuisine with a seasonal twist.

The Rose Mary moniker holds multiple meanings. First, it pays homage to the matriarchs of Flamm’s family, his maternal and paternal grandmothers: Mary and Mary Rose. It is also named for the herb rosemary, which is native to the rocky regions of the Mediterranean and Adriatic. Known as “the dew of the sea,” rosemary grows along both the Italian and Croatian coastlines, and thus represents how the restaurant bridges a gap between two very distinct yet harmonious countries, cultures and cuisines.

Design

Flamm and Sancerre Hospitality partnered with the award-winning Los Angeles-based design firm Studio UNLTD to create the dynamic interior—the firm’s first project in Chicago. Rose Mary’s design reflects the utilitarian yet celebratory spirit of traditional family-run, age-old taverns in Croatia known as konobas. Just as Croatian cuisine is informed by the ingredients born of its pure earth, clean air and abundance of water, the design of Rose Mary is inspired by the natural elements of Croatia’s Mediterranean coast.

Whitewashed brick walls reference the pebbled beaches along the Adriatic Sea and are accented by moments of red clay and tile work of a deep, azure blue that is at play throughout. Rustic, honey-colored oak millwork and pale stone used on the exposed surfaces that draws inspiration from Croatia’s abundant limestone quarries lend a softness and warmth to the space’s airy, indoor-outdoor feel. Abundant plant life that is true to the region and quaint touches such as folk-inspired textiles and accessories play beautifully against the seaside-inspired room.

About Studio UNLTD

Los Angeles based STUDIO UNLTD is an award- winning hospitality design firm equally adept at the varied disciplines of interior architecture, architecture, furniture, and lighting. They listen carefully to our client's needs and wishes to create spaces that work for them functional, comfortable and beautiful. They understand that the heart of a project is generated from the client, and they look at themselves as a means of transforming those ideas into a successful and tangible manifestation of a concept.